Potato salad Kickstarter raises thousands of dollars in a few days

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The explanation posted by the creator of the latest Kickstarter craze explains very succinctly what it’s all about: “Basically I’m just making potato salad. I haven’t decided what kind yet,” it says.

The campaign started by Zack Danger Brown (danger is his middle name, get it?) had a goal of $10 so he could make some potato salad to share with the internet. It’s closing in on $10,000 now with almost a month left. The internet, it seems, is a very, very weird place.

Most Kickstarters are intended to get a new product or service launched, but not this one. Potato salad already exists, and this is simply about one man making his own batch. Of course, there are rewards for backers of varying levels. For $1 you get a thank you posted on the potato salad website. At $2 you get a photo of Mr. Danger making the potato salad — how exciting! The $10 tier is where it really starts getting interesting with the opportunity to hang out with the chef while he’s making the potato salad. Presumably you have to provide your own transportation.

Kickstarter does actually have rules for projects, but it’s fairly loose. Fundraising for charity is one of the few things you can’t do, which is probably why the great potato salad campaign of 2014 has higher funding levels that offer hats, limited edition t-shirts, and custom haikus about potato salad. Giving away actual things makes the whole project seem less insane. Not by much, mind you, but enough.

Still undecided? What would a Kickstarter be without stretch goals? It started at $35, at which point Zack Danger Brown promised to make 4 times as much potato salad. The most recent goal was for $3,000, which triggered the rental of a party hall for a potato salad party, and the entire internet is invited. That was thousands of dollars ago — Zack Danger Brown may not know what he’s gotten himself into. I imagine the internet will be demanding increasingly bizarre stretch goals for the next few weeks. Potato salad on the moon? Sure, why not? Maybe we could fund a mission to Mars with potato salad.